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Thursday, September 29, 2016

Deepwater Horizon

By George M. Thomas

Mark Wahlberg stars as Mike Williams in
"Deepwater Horizon."

DEEPWATER HORIZON
could have easily taken an exploitative route and become the typical disaster
flick.

Think POSEIDON ADVENTURE.
However entertaining such a film might be, in this case it would have
been a disservice to those who perished in the most significant oil rigging
accident in history, which caused a spill that still has lingering effects on
the Gulf Coast some six years after the fact.

Instead, the filmmakers behind this story, which obviously
takes some dramatic license, choose to concentrate on trying to tell a tale
fraught with plenty of drama. Every
scene in director Peter Berg’s film rings with some element of truth.

Each situation within the film is allowed to stand on its
own with respect to evoking an emotional response and while the film’s strength
are those emotional elements, there’s little doubt that Berg (STATE OF PLAY,
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) captures the epic nature of this accident and all of its
tragic beauty with his camera’s eye.

He trains it on three principles – Mike (Mark Wahlberg),
Jimmy (Kurt Russell) and Andrea (Gina Rodriguez) and their compatriots on the
Deepwater Horizon drilling vessel. Directing from a screenplay by Matthew
Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand, he dives right into what’s to come.

Jimmy and Mike get a bad feeling from the start as they
board the ship for their 21 day stay and realize that a crucial inspection has
not been made. Jimmy, who’s genuine
first concern is his crew, has to verbally and mentally spar with BP
bureaucrats, led by Vidrine (John Malkovich) who only have one thing on their
minds – profit and making up for lost production time.

Vidrine willingly pushes the limits of the Deepwater
Horizon’s systems during tests, essentially ignoring data and safety
protocols. Reluctantly, Jimmy goes along
with Vidrine’s assessment and allows the rig to begin work. Not surprisingly, tragedy and horror strike
when the Horizon turns into one huge fireball, forcing its more than 150 crew
to try to find a way to get off with their lives.

DEEPWATER HORIZON
walks a fine line between point the finger of blame and dealing with the
heroism of those affected, who were many.
Although the audience would be reasonable in expecting Wahlberg to
dominate the film, that’s not the case he and others turn this into an ensemble
affair.

That’s not to say Wahlberg doesn’t do any heavy dramatic
lifting. The opposite proves true as he
delivers an intense but measured performance as does Russell as the wise “old
man.” Malkovich produces his moments and
resists the urge to turn Vidrine into little more than a villainous caricature.

DEEPWATER HORIZON
takes the audience through a harrowing experience with top notch performances,
thrilling moments and memorable visuals.